This afternoon I spoke with Austin chef Paul Qui, winner of this season’s Top Chef: Texas. I also spoke with runner-up Sarah Grueneberg. So what was Sarah’s reaction to landing Tyler Stone as a sous-chef? “Oh,” she first thought—Stone had been kicked off by head judge Tom Colicchio before the judging even began (his crime was hacking apart pork ribs). But the chef of Spiaggia said she did feel for him, surrounded by Grayson Schmitz, Nyesha Arrington, and Heather Terhune who, said Sarah, “were going to eat him alive” if he stepped out of line. (Interestingly, according to Colicchio, Sarah might have been better off if she did, in fact, take Tyler’s sous-vide suggestion.)
Paul Qui, meanwhile, goes home the winningest chef on the series: $185,000, a car, and two trips. If you’re wondering what that amount comes to after taxes, Paul hasn’t figured that part out yet.
You can read the rest of my take here. And stay tuned for my extended interview with Colicchio next week.